


Hear me Chirp

by PlushPanda



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, shapeshifter!au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-08-14 07:00:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8002798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlushPanda/pseuds/PlushPanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chloe wants to know what Beca's favorite animal is, but Beca will have none of that.</p>
<p>OR</p>
<p>Beca and Chloe spend quality time together in a cabin in the woods.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wacha got under there?

"Holy shit!" Beca yelped when someone popped out of the bushes nearby. Thusfar, she'd been enjoying a rather nice vacation in the middle of nowhere all alone. The cabin in the woods her dad had built some years ago had become her favorite place to spend her off time because of that exact reason. There was no one else around.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize—"

Still holding her sputtering heart, Beca saw recognition cross Chloe's face. Wait. "Chloe?"

And just like that, Chloe broke out in a bright smile. "Beca!" She bounded through the tall grass to approach the other woman. Beca didn't even have enough time to stand up from her comfy chair before Chloe had reached her and held her in a bonecrushing hug.

"What are you doing here?" Beca gasped into the hug, giving Chloe an awkward pat on the back. They soon turned into several awkward pats until she released her an inappropriate time later.

"My mom told me about this place," Chloe explained happily, standing so close that if Beca slouched some, their knees would be touching.

Whoa, Beca had forgotten how much positivity Chloe radiated from that proximity.

She shook the thought off.

"Wait, your mom?" she repeated incredulously. "Nobody knows about this place except me and my dad."

Chloe stopped shining brightly for a moment, her smile faltering, before her eyes widened in realization and an even bigger smile tugged at her lips. "Oh my God, you're a shifter, too!"

Beca opened her mouth to reply, except she was not prepared for that accusation. Like, at all. "What?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at Chloe. Then, in a show of superior wit, she said, "What?" again.

"My mom's been hanging out with other shifters, and one of them mentioned this place as a great retreat, so that must've been your dad, which means you're like us, too," she explained. Then, when Beca's only reaction was to blink slowly as her eyebrows steadily rose upwards, she continued. "What's your spirit animal?"

Beca blinked some more. "What?"

"The animal you change into seamlessly?" Chloe said, still excessivley enthusiastic about the prospect. "Your totem? Avatar? Reflection of your inner self?"

Finally, Beca managed to gather her wits from the floor. "Okay, yeah, no." She held up her hands and stood up, coming face to face with sparkling blue eyes. Well, standing up like that was a bad idea. Effortlessly, she moved around the other woman so she could stand a safe distance away. "I'm not going to play this game with you."

"What game?" Chloe asked, tilting her head.

"This." Beca pointed between the two of them. "No."

"Oh, come on." She slipped off her backpack and dumped it rather uncerimoniously on the grass next to the chair Beca had previously been occupying. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours?" She raised her eyebrows suggestively.

Beca shot her an incredulous look. "Really? That's what you're going with?"

"I bet it's something small and fluffy," Chloe continued on, ignoring Beca's not-really-protest. "Like a hamster."

Beca almost raised a hand to her mouth in search of nonexistent buck teeth. Almost. She shook her head roughly. "No, stop," she said warningly, raising a finger at Chloe.

"Or a racoon. A koala, maybe?"

Beca sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose momentarily, before her eyes snapped open to look at the hands at the top button of her flannel shirt. "What are you doing?!" she yelped, jumping back.

"You wouldn't want to ruin those clothes when you shift," Chloe said, hands still hovering around chest level.

"I'm glad to see you finally learned some boundaries," Beca quipped sarcastically.

"It's not like I'd see anything I haven't seen before." She shrugged. And then she did that thing where she tilted her head and smiled lazily while her eyes slipped down for a moment in a way that made shivers run down Beca's spine.

Beca supressed the oncomings of a visible shudder. "So not the point— _what_ are you doing now?"

Chloe had started to unbutton her own shirt (Beca shuddered to think what she would've done if she were only wearing a t-shirt). "We gotta start somewhere, don't we?" she said, popping open the last button and revealing the tanktop underneath.

"Oh my God, I can't believe I'm—" The shirt dropped to the ground and Chloe gripped the edge of her tanktop. "Bear! A bear!"

Chloe instantly let her hands fall to her sides. "That's too cute!" she almost squealed.

Beca sighed as her shoulders slumped. Unmoving from her defeated position, she figured she might as well ask. "What's yours?"

"What's my what?" Chloe asked, picking up her pack and moving it inside. It was a very cozy, one room cabin with the main focus being the queen sized bed at the far end.

Beca wasn't even surprised Chloe continued to claim a spot and just let her. "Your spirit animal," Beca clarified, feeling dirty for even saying it in so much that she thought it was the suckiest way to label such a serious thing. And really, was Chloe fucking with her now?

Chloe turned from where she had dropped her pack and faced Beca. "You'll just have to wait and see," she said with an innocent smile, then continued to make her way outside again.

"What do you mean, 'wait and see'?" she asked, mockingly mimicking Chloe. "I just totally—oh, okay." Beca awkwardly averted her eyes and sort of shielded her eyes with a hand as Chloe proceeded to take off her top. "Taking off you clothes. That's cool, too."

There was some more rustling, intermitted by Chloe's giggle once she noticed how keen Beca was on averting her eyes. "Okay, I'm done," Chloe said.

For some reason, Beca forgot what Chloe had been doing in the first place, and lowered her hand to look at the other woman, then immediately trained her eyes on a spot over Chloe's shoulder. "I should not be able to picture my friends naked," Beca mentioned mostly to herself, eyes slightly wider after receiving such an eyefull.

Chloe's reaction was gleeful and immediate. "You picture me naked?"

"Yeah, it's kind of seared into my retinas now," Beca quipped, narrowing her eyes in mock pain as she kept staring into the open air.

Chloe breathed a laugh before deciding to give Beca a break and shifting into her _spirit animal_. It was as if Beca read her mind, however, and she was interrupted by the disgruntled woman. "Okay, if I think of the words 'spirit animal' one more time, I'm gonna go kick a puppy. From now on, it shall be... I don't know, Preferred Form." She threw up her hands in frustration for added effect.

Chloe just shot her a look. "Really?"

"Hey, I'm just looking out for the puppies," Beca said, appearing deadly serious.

Chloe smiled at the unintended pun, finally shifting into her _Preferred Form_.

When Beca saw the distinctly female shape change in the corner of her eyes, she dared to look in Chloe's direction, and was met with a russet colored wolf. It ran a short distance away from Beca, all the while looking back and begging with big blue eyes for Beca to follow her. Knowing Chloe, probably in her preferred form as well.

That was going to be a problem.

Not because she'd have to get naked, but because she'd kind of blurted the first thing that came to mind when Chloe had asked for her preferred form. She was definitely not a bear. God, she wished she was a bear.

Chloe barked once (well, that was something she did not think she'd ever see happening), and disappeared into the thicker shrubbery.

Beca thought about following her. She really did. For maybe 2.3 seconds. But eventually, she sat back down on the chair to enjoy the nice weather.

It's not like Chloe had verbally invited her or anything, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a repost of my story on fanfiction.net. Yes, it is me. No, it isn't plagiarism. I just felt like this account needed this story, because it takes place in the same AU as "Hear me chuff."
> 
> That being said, this story has LITTLE plot and A LOT of good feels. If that is your thing, carry on.


	2. Traitorous purrs

Either Beca had dozed off or Chloe was very sneaky, because the next thing she knew, a pair of paws landed in her lap. A rather large wolf was now staring her down at eye level. Granted, its panting made it look like it was smiling wide, but it was still big.

"Do not," Beca began carefully, almost afraid to move, "even think about changing back right now."

Chloe lolled her tongue back into her mouth and tilted her head. As if she hadn't flashed Beca multiple times already.

When nothing else happened, Beca sighed. There was no way she was going to know what Chloe wanted from her if she stayed a wolf. Okay. She could do this. She could see Chloe naked again and not think anything of it. "What?"

In response, the wolf jumped off her lap and twirled around playfully before ending up with its head in its paws on the ground, rump high in the air and tail wagging like crazy. Beca was pretty sure Chloe wanted to play. Or something.

Beca threw her head back and groaned, "I don't want to shift." No, she'd rather not turn into a bear for God knew how long only to change back with an enormous hunger and cramps everywhere.

A low whine tugged at her heart strings.

Beca briefly considered making up an excuse. What was the most common one again? Oh right. "But I have a headache," she said, lifting her head to pout at the wolf.

At that, Chloe simply huffed and headed into the forest again without her.

Well, that worked better than she'd thought. Perhaps even a little too good, because hours later, when she was gathering wood for the fire pit, Chloe still hadn't returned. Not only that, but Beca was getting kind of itchy staying in her human skin. All that forest and privacy was tempting her and the only thing that kept her from shifting was Chloe's possible return.

She dumped the wood into the fire pit with a huff. A quick glance around the site told her there was no one in her immediate surroundings. "Screw it," she muttered to herself, and started to undress. She wasn't going to let someone else ruin her getaway, least of all a fellow shapeshifter.

Before her jeans even hit the ground, she'd already shifted into the animal she hated to love; a cheetah. With a satisfied purr, she stretched her entire upper body and kneaded the ground underneath her paws.

"Ah-hah! I knew it!"

Beca literally jumped into the air and fell onto her side, front paws raised in a defensive position. There may have been some hissing as well.

"Sorry," Chloe said, not even trying to hide her smile. She approached the cheetah a little more carefully. "I can't help that you startle easily."

For the second time that day, Beca tried to tame her startled heart. Only this time, when she finally relaxed, she struggled to get back underneath her clothes before she shifted back.

"But you didn't have to lie about your preferred form," Chloe said, the slightest tremble of disappointment hidden in her voice. "Especially since it's a cheetah. Cheetahs are cool." She nodded her approval to Beca, who sat awkwardly a distance away. "Why did you lie, anyway?"

Beca wasn't surprised that Chloe was so comfortable. What did surprise her was that the amount of skin that was left exposed ruffled her nerves. She pulled her shirt closer to her chest, making sure everything important was covered. "Because cheetahs are scrawny?" she guessed, trying to buy herself more time.

Chloe shot her a disbelieving look.

"No, really, that's why," Beca said, unable to find a reason beyond the real reason. She continued more vehemently, "They're scrawny, easily tired, and have semi-retractible claws! At least a bear makes up for all that by being badass."

Chloe's disbelieving look slowly melted away until she let out a laugh. "Leave it to you to find it uncool to turn into a dangerous predator," she said with a shake of the head.

Beca huffed, not disagreeing. She loved the cheetah, but dear God, would she rather die than let anyone hear the cutesy noises they could produce. "So, we're cool?"

Chloe looked at her as if she'd grown a second head. "Of course we're cool. We were never not cool." She glanced at the fire pit that was now full of wood and tinder. "Are we doing something for dinner?"

"Shit," Beca cursed, remembering her thwarted plans. She almost got up, temporarily forgetting about her state of undress, but caught herself just in time. It was all Chloe's fault for acting as if it was nothing in the first place. "Um, I was going to go fishing in the shallow waters a few miles to the east, but we also have-"

"Then let's go fishing!"

"But we-" It was no use, however, since Chloe had shifted back again and was already on her way to the east. "Wait up!" she called, kicking off her shirt and shifting as well before running after Chloe.

Beca caught a glimpse of Chloe on the way to the water, shooting back an almost taunting look of glee. As if she was proud to outrun a cheetah. Well, Beca would have none of that, of course. No one was going to outrun her. Heck, she was faster than some cars.

So she sped up significantly, going up in her environment as she expertly avoided trees and large roots, quickly losing sight of the wolf in the woods. It was exhilarating to be able to run so freely again, to feel the fresh, outside air fill her lungs and the grass underneath her paws.

Though, in hindsight, it may not have been the greatest idea. Because now she was standing at the edge of the water with no Chloe in sight.

Maybe she'd gone too fast.

So Beca plopped down, cooling down her overheated body, and waited.

Birds chirped in the distance.

A stray fox scurried away through the bushes.

Water rushed soothingly.

The wind played with the tree tops.

By the time she started to feel the need to groom herself, Beca got up and paced along the water side. If Chloe wasn't going to show up soon...

A howl sounded not too far away, and for some reason that was beyond Beca, she knew it was Chloe. She followed the sound to her best ability, but the howl stopped before she could properly find her. Her first instinct was to make some noise herself so that Chloe would hear her, and stupidly enough, she did.

She chirped. She chirped a few times before realizing the cutesy sounds she was making, but by then, it was already too late. A russet colored wolf pounced her way, tongue lolling out and the happiest of grins plastered on its face. Then Chloe had shifted back into a human and was holding her face and ruffling her neck and cooing and Beca could hardly rear back her head before there was more ruffling and what was even happening.

"That's the cutest sound I've ever heard!" Chloe cooed, even as Beca panicked and thusly, chirped once more. In response, Chloe's eyebrows scrunched up in what Beca could barely categorize as a facial expression of the 'cuteness overload' variety, when her front paws were lifted off the ground and she was suddenly hugging Chloe.

 _Naked_ , was all that passed through Beca's mind. _Naked junk touching._

Beca was about to initiate her flight response, except she really liked Chloe, and if she panicked and fled, she may hurt the woman with her semi-retractible claws. So instead, she froze, paws awkwardly hanging around her waist to prevent any scratching, while Chloe just sort of petted her mane absentmindedly. Eventually, Beca relaxed somewhat into the gentle touch. And, of course, started purring.

 _Cursed, traitorous body_ , Beca thought, grimacing.

Chloe gave her one last squeeze and backed away, whispering, "Too cute."

Beca narrowed her eyes and tilted her head in her best murderous glare. Though, in truth, she didn't mind all that much, because Chloe was radiant when she smiled and her eyes seemed to shine a shade of blue brighter. So she wasn't that bothered when all she achieved was Chloe trying to hold back a laugh and her receiving another ruffle around the jaw.

"Let's go fishing," Chloe said, a crooked smile tugging at her lips, and then she was smiling at Beca as a wolf once again.


	3. Moon Moon

Chloe climbed out of the water soaking wet.

Beca wanted to laugh desperately. She was laughing to her full capability as an animal, which maybe translated to her mouth falling open in something akin to a smile and her eyes narrowing slightly as her face dipped down, she wasn't sure, but inside her head, the laugh was resounding.

Chloe had tried imitating her way of fishing, which basically meant slapping fish out of the water (with special thanks to Beca's father, whose preferred form was a bear). It was hard enough with practice, let alone as a wolf and without proper instruction. Several failed attempts later, Chloe, who had gotten extra enthusiastic in her frustration, had slipped from the rocks and landed in the water.

And Beca, who had never seen a wet dog like that before, laughed. She had barely formed witty remarks to save for later, when Chloe barked once, and jumped her.

Beca was struck with how well she could interpret the sounds Chloe made as an animal, namely amused, right before she was literally struck by a wet dog. She was hit by wave of delight as she struggled to keep the wolf from soaking her. They struggled in a flurry of movements, all paws and soaking fur, until finally, Chloe managed to achieve the upper hand.

Chloe looked so proud, Beca couldn't help but breathe a laugh as she playfully nudged Chloe's muzzle with a hand. A very human hand.

In the moment that Beca was distracted by the fact that she had shifted into a human without her wanting to, Chloe shifted as well. She looked just as confused about changing, but dear lord, that proud, drowned puppy look was still there and Beca tried her best to not laugh at it.

Chloe shot her a warning look, and Beca's eyes widened as she recognized the intention in them. This time, it was Chloe's turn to smirk as she ascended upon Beca, fully meaning to soak the other girl for laughing at her.

Beca yelped, quickly shifting into a domestic cat so she could escape and scurry away properly.

"Scaredy cat," Chloe taunted playfully, reclining in the grass.

Beca simply stuck out her tongue in reply, aware that she looked even more ridiculous as an animal doing that. She took the resulting laugh for granted and decided that she'd teach Chloe how to fish another time when she was properly clothed. In the meantime, she'd catch something for her as well. Not once did she stop to consider how strange it was to have randomly shifted or that she should've felt awkward, naked like that under Chloe. It all felt so natural, and —dare she even think it— fun, that she didn't give it a second thought.

On the walk back to the cabin, both with a modestly sized salmon in their respective snout, Beca caught Chloe staring at her. She shot her a questioning look in return. Chloe snorted her response, and leaned in briefly to nudge her face into Beca's before continuing their walk to the cabin.

Beca scrunched her nose, feeling weirdly comfortable being thanked like that. With a little hop in her step, she went after Chloe.

Dinnertime rolled on by, and Beca had offered to prepare the fish while Chloe took a nap. She had been up and about all afternoon, after all. Beca took it easy, but once everything was almost done she had to wake up the sleeping beauty. Except when she opened the door to the cabin, she didn't find the beauty. No, she found the beast. And what a precious beast it was.

Beca bit her knuckles to prevent herself from squealing at the sight. Chloe had remained a wolf and was lying on her back in a nest of sheets, paws casually sticking up in the air. Her face was pressed into the bed, with her neck fluffy side up.

Beca tried to regroup, turning away briefly to take a deep breath and keep the embarrassing squeals at bay. Once the need ebbed away, she knocked on the doorframe. "Wake up, Moon Moon, dinner's ready."

No response.

Well, since a verbal approach wasn't working, she'd have to get a little hands on, wouldn't she?

Beca approached the sleeping puppy and sat down on the edge of the bed. She tentatively touched the fur of the wolf's belly. She knew dogs were fluffy but sweet merciful Jesus, that fur was soft. "Yo Moon Moon," she said again, giving it a little shake.

Finally, she got a bit of a response. The wolf's tongue flicked out to lick its nose and Beca received a short pitiful whine. It was almost as if it was asking to sleep a little longer.

"No, come on, up," Beca coaxed, ruffling the fur beneath her fingers. As soon as she started the petting, Chloe's tail seemed to adopt a mind of its own as it started up a slow wag. Beca had to grin at that, and decided to test if it was related to her petting. Out of purely scientific curiosity, of course.

Bringing in her other hand, Beca started to ruffle the fur in earnest, treating the wolf as one would a playful dog. Sure enough, the tail-wagging increased in intensity until Chloe started squirming and eventually raised her head and let her paws fall to the side.

Beca halted her attack but didn't remove her hands, watching as Chloe yawned wide, letting out a typical canine squeak at the end of it. Chloe shot Beca a sleepy look, not seeming to be able to process anything.

"Time for dinner," Beca clarified, wriggling her fingers playfully in the thick fur. The wolf's ears perked up at that, and Beca could see the enthusiasm building in the way that tail started to move again. For some reason, this alerted Beca, making her remove her hands. "Right." She cleared her throat and got up. "I'll let you get dressed."

Chloe barked, drawing Beca's attention before she could even take a step away. She came face to face with the sparkling blue eyes of a wolf, and received a glorious broad lick right up her nose. Beca had frozen for the first lick, not expecting that, like, _at all_ , and proceeded to receive more. Thankfully, that triggered a reaction in her. "Dude!" she protested, recoiling. "Ew," she added dryly, wiping her face as she tried to shoot Chloe a glare. But let's face it, she could never be angry at Chloe for something that silly. So instead, she just rolled her eyes and told her that she'd be outside.

It was almost strange for Beca to see a human Chloe walking around dressed again. And she said as much by showing the confusion on her face.

"What?" Chloe asked, catching the expression as she sat down in the grass next to Beca, near the fire pit.

"Nothing," Beca said nonchalantly, picking at her food. "I almost didn't recognize you with your clothes on."

Chloe guffawed incredulously at that. "It's not _that_ bad," she replied, noticing her fish displayed on the broad ledge of the fire pit.

Beca shot her a wide-eyed 'are you shitting me right now' look. "I'm pretty sure that some men of my age have seen less female nudity than I have today."

"That'd be sad," Chloe replied seriously, taking a bite of the fish. She chewed a few times before her eyes widened and a hand shot up to her mouth. "Oh wow, this is really good."

Beca shrugged, unable to reply with her mouth full. They continued eating for a while in comfortable silence, accompanied by the warm orange glow that the flames emitted from the fire pit.

"So how's Jesse?" Chloe asked randomly. Or, considering their previous subject, not so randomly.

Beca swallowed. "Jesse who?"

Chloe's eyebrows raised at that. "Jesse, your boyfriend Jesse?"

"Oh!" Beca's eyes widened in recognition. "Yeah, no. That's a really unsexy story," she waved off.

"Really?" Chloe seemed genuinely surprised by this. "You two looked like you got along really well."

"Yeah, as friends," Beca huffed. "As I said, unsexy."

Chloe finally seemed to catch on. "Oh."

Beca looked over at Chloe when nothing else followed the proclamation, and was caught off guard by the picture that was presented before her. Her red hair was wilder than usual, probably due to all the roughhousing they did, but did nothing to diminish her usual beauty. If anything, the carelessness she was exhibiting made her even more pleasant. It didn't help that the fire threw an orange glow on them in the dark, making her hair a shade more intense, contrasting wonderfully against those blue eyes that were now looking at her strangely.

"What?" Chloe asked suspiciously.

Beca snapped out of it. "Uh, nothing. Just trying to remember those clothes for future reference," she said, mock-solemnly.

"Oh, shut up," Chloe chuckled, nudging their shoulders together.


	4. Room for one more

Sleeping arrangements.

Beca stared thoughtfully at the bed, contemplating their sleeping arrangements while Chloe cleaned up outside. They ended up playing a rather intense version of Uno for a while - trash-talking and dramatics included - except Chloe went from sweeping Beca's defeated remains to being exhausted remarkably fast, so Beca suggested an early night.

So, sleeping arrangements.

There was a hammock she could hang up, but she didn't really feel like mentioning it. No, she actually preferred to sleep with Chloe in the same bed. She knew very well why she wanted it as such, but it still gnawed a little at her. A badass such as herself shouldn't want to cuddle.

Then again, Chloe had heard her chirp and hadn't mentioned it again aside from that obvious moment during the awkward naked hug. She probably wouldn't mind her little ruse to get some cuddles in. Heck, Chloe was all over her every chance she got.

"What's up?" Chloe asked, entering the cabin. Beca snapped out of her thoughts, looking up at the redhead. "Whoa." Chloe gasped when their eyes connected in the near dark. Beca's eyes had the same eerie glow to them that cats got during the night.

"What?" Beca asked, eyes widening in alarm. The only thing illuminating them at the moment was the fire outside, and even that was faint, but she could clearly make out the shock on Chloe's face.

"Your eyes are super cool," Chloe breathed, a wide smile replacing her shock.

Beca blinked a few times, processing the compliment. "Oh! Yeah," she said, finally understanding. Mainly because Chloe's eyes were doing much the same thing. "Yours, too."

Chloe smiled big at that, momentarily sidetracked by her pride before turning in the general direction of the bed. "So, what are we looking at?"

She decided to just get it on with. "We're going to share a bed, aren't we?"

"You can always sleep outside if you don't want to," Chloe replied, trying to sound serious, but Beca could see the slight twitch of a smile tugging at her lips.

" _I'm_ supposed to sleep outside?" Beca chuckled, moving inside to arrange what she would like to call 'the bucket candle,' which was basically what it sounded like. A bucket filled with candle wax. With their improved eyesight, it would provide all the light they would need during the night. "You're impossible."

"Your mouth says one thing..." She let the sentence trail off and fell onto the bed unceremoniously, taking up the entire space by spreading her limbs.

Beca perked up at that, wondering if she'd been busted. It would save her so much trouble if her body language had given her amorous intentions away. "What?" she asked, lighting a matchstick. "What does my body say?"

Chloe rolled onto her stomach, propping her head up with a hand in a thoughtful pose. "I bet you're a cuddler."

Beca shot her a disbelieving look. "Really?" she asked dryly.

"Oh yeah." Chloe nodded enthusiastically. "You want to get all up on this," she added, gesturing down at herself.

Beca was fully prepared to say something flirty back, like maybe 'and I wouldn't mind getting up on you, either,' but her matchstick was starting to burn out. "Ow!" She dropped the matchstick in lieu of flapping her hand and relieving the burn.

"See, you're getting all hot just thinking about it," she remarked cheekily, a matching amused smile on her face.

"Oh, shut it," Beca groused playfully.

After Beca had locked up the cabin and everything was said and done, she was horrified to find out Chloe was right. She wasn't horrified that she had somehow ended up spooning the redhead from behind in her sleep, no, she was horrified that Chloe might find out and end up making fun of her for it. So she remained deathly still until she was sure Chloe was still asleep.

It was deceptively hard with her nose pressed against the back of Chloe's neck, because instead of focusing on her breathing pattern, she was immensely distracted by the wonderful scents that she kept inhaling with every breath. She smelled of the wilderness, of wet grass and moist dirt, of burnt wood, but most of all, she smelled of Chloe and it was all kinds of glorious.

Beca's chest rumbled with a purr. For the moment, she just felt so blissfully content with the reassuring weight of the sweetest person in her arms and the warmth against her chest. She couldn't not purr. Until she realized that she was creating vibrations against a certain someone's back.

_Abort, abort._

Faking a response to a nonexistent nightmare, Beca inhaled sharply and sat up with an urgency that wasn't entirely faked. And that's exactly what she needed. As soon as that perfect heady scent wasn't clouding her thoughts, she noted that she had no reason to worry around Chloe. This was the girl that didn't care about her chirp, let alone something like her purr.

Ugh, sometimes, she'd like to slap some sense into herself.

"You okay?" a sleepy voice asked beside her.

Beca looked over at the other woman and nearly puked a rainbow. Chloe apparently was one of those people who looked drop dead gorgeous even though they rolled out of bed at 5 in the morning.

"I'm fine," Beca sputtered, quickly remembering her excuse. "It was just a dream."

Chloe smiled lazily, and suddenly it wasn't only Beca's mouth that sputtered. It was her heart, too. She sat up, resting her chin on Beca's shoulder as a hand came to rest on her lower back. "When I used to get nightmares, I'd sneak into my aunt's bed."

"Your aunt's?" Beca asked before she could help herself. She was much too distracted by the warmth and comfort that the other radiated to contemplate tact.

"Yeah, my parents were away on business a lot," Chloe explained, eyes sleep-laden and drooping. "Anyway. Of course, that'd wake her up, but she didn't mind. She'd always talk about something really random while I tried to sleep, like why polar bears are white, and that really helped to get my mind off of things before I fell asleep."

Beca smiled at what Chloe was trying to do. "Are you going to tell me why polar bears are white now?"

"No, I'm going to tell you that your purr is adorable and that you shouldn't be ashamed of it," Chloe said, smiling wide at Beca's surprise.

Beca chuckled once the surprise of being caught wore off, and shook her head at herself. "Busted."

"Your chirp is really cute, too."

Beca slumped her shoulders and groaned at that. God, she was sure that Chloe would never mention that again.

"What?" Chloe asked, genuinely surprised. "It's awesome."

Beca sighed, resigning to tell Chloe her own story, and turned to look her in the eye, which - whoa, they were really up close and intimate right there. "Uh." She quickly scrambled to catch her last thought while Chloe just watched her with a calm adoration that made her skin prickle. "My parents thought it was the cutest thing, too," she blurted out, earning her a curious look. "That I'm a cheetah. That chirps." Okay, she was explaining this. She could do it. "I was a big fan of the Lion King way back then," Beca ignored Chloe's bright smile in favor of the story, "and I thought that, just like Simba, I'd outgrow the chirp until I could eventually roar and be a badass like my dad."

"But you never did," Chloe finished for her, completely enamored.

Beca paused at the way Chloe breathed the words and was trailing her eyes down her face as if she was trying to remember every detail. And was it just her or was Chloe inching closer - Holy Hell, were they going to kiss?

But no, Chloe simply touched their foreheads together and gently bumped their noses, just like when she had thanked Beca in animal form. Despite it feeling natural and kind of platonic, it still made Beca's blood boil. Having her lips so close, feeling her breaths tickling her face. It would only take a little nudge forwards—

"Are you feeling better?" Chloe asked softly.

Beca swallowed, unconsciously returning the nuzzle. "Yeah," she breathed. She could feel the answering smile in the way Chloe's nose crinkled against her own.

"Think you can go back to sleep?"

Beca barely caught the words, so entranced was she by their proximity. "Yup."

Chloe backed away slightly, and in the moment Beca swore to God she was going to lean in the remaining distance, Chloe moved forwards and placed a sweet kiss on her nose.

Beca wished she had a keyboard so she could smash it.

"Good night, then," Chloe said, smile ever present, before lying down again.

"Chloe?" Beca started, stopping the woman in her movements, but the moment had already slipped through her fingers.

"Yeah?"

"Good night," she ended up saying, silently promising herself that she would seize the moment the next time it appeared.

Chloe narrowed her eyes at her suspiciously, appearing to know that it wasn't what she was going to say, but letting it go nevertheless. She settled back in the bed with her back to Beca. "Come on, Big Spoon, cuddle up."

Beca rolled her eyes playfully. "Sure thing, Moon Moon."

A pause.

"Who's Moon Moon?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guest starring Maura Isles from Rizzoli&Isles!
> 
> aka I once saw a gif comparing Maura and Chloe and rolled with that.

That morning Beca woke up before the sun was even fully up yet, wrapped in the warmest arms. At some point during the night, she must have turned around, and Chloe must have followed, proceeding to make her the little spoon. She could feel hot puffs of air tickling her neck every time Chloe exhaled, and, together with the plaid blanket, she wasn't surprised to discover she was feeling rather overheated.

Still, she stayed quiet for a moment longer, enjoying the hand on her stomach — under her shirt, unsurprisingly — and the idea that Chloe wanted to be this close to her. When she felt like she had memorized the moment properly, she gently removed herself from the other woman, squirming slightly as the hand on her stomach flitted against her side, creating an unintentional ticklish sensation.

Beca looked back at the bed, catching herself smiling at Chloe as she whined softly and searched the bed for her. With a disbelieving shake of the head at herself (ugh, she was so smitten), she went outside to gather some supplies for the rest of the day. They needed more water and she was pretty sure that if she didn't chop some wood before it warm, they'd have the tiniest fire that night.

So, of course, Beca was interrupted around the time she had already worked up a sweat from the wood chopping.

A quiet growl from behind her made her whip around, axe still in hand. Only instead of a dangerous animal, she was met with Chloe, looking vaguely startled.

Beca narrowed her eyes at Chloe, tilting her head in a silent question.

"Um," Chloe started awkwardly, then raised a hand to her stomach. "Do you have anything to eat?"

Beca chuckled at that, and lowered the axe to the ground, handle up. "You've never hunted your own breakfast?" she asked, wiping the sweat from her brow with her free hand. She fully intended to tell Chloe about the provisions in the pantry, but not without teasing her a little before that.

Chloe smiled sheepishly, like it was common practise for all shapeshifters to be able to hunt down their own meals and she was ashamed that she couldn't.

Once Beca realized that, her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Really?" she asked, sounding more surprised than she meant to. "But you've been running around as a predator practically every chance you got."

"Some of us don't have a cottage in the middle of the woods, okay?" She pouted, kicking at the dirt. "It doesn't help that my aunt's preferred form is a herbivore."

Beca stood there, dumbstruck. It didn't quite dawn on her that someone who carried a predator around in their heart hadn't experienced the thrill of the hunt. Even her father was excited to share it with her when she'd been old enough to learn. She snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Chloe becoming worried at her extended silence. "That's it," she said resolutely. "We are going hunting. No soup or fish for us tonight."

Chloe smiled wide at that, eyes twinkling in delight. Beca was powerless to return the smile. Then came a moment wherein Beca was sure Chloe was going to approach her for a bear hug, only for them both to be distracted by the distant sound of... hooves?

Beca perked up, scouring the area for the source of the sound. It wasn't very surprising that a fair haired horse came trotting into view a moment later, because they heard it coming. What _was_ weird was that a _horse_ was approaching them in all its elegant glory. Y'know, without a rider. It was carrying some bags, however.

Beca stood there, staring uncomprehendingly as Chloe practically ran over. "Maura!" she said enthusiastically, immediately starting to remove the satchels. The mare, for her part, remained ever so calm as Chloe worked, staring right back at Beca. Looking deep into her soul.

Beca shuddered at the look. "Um." She wasn't quite sure what to say. She shuffled around slightly, unnerved to see the hazel eyes follow her around. "You know each other?" she settled on asking, not quite sure what was going on.

"Yes!" Chloe undid the last buckle. "Beca, meet my aunt, Maura."

"Your who?" Even as she asked the question, the mare shifted into a very human form. A very attractive, naked human form that carried the same bright smile that Chloe was sporting right now. "Oh holy—" Beca couldn't avert her eyes quickly enough.

Was everyone in Chloe's family that shameless and lovely? She feared the day she met her mother.

Oh Lord.

"Um, hi," Beca said, keenly interested in the pine tree to her right. Wow, that was some fascinating bark right there.

"I didn't know anyone else was going to be here," Maura said, shooting Chloe a questioning look. "Much less another shifter." Her eyes briefly flitted over to Beca's reddening face. "Are you two lovers? Your scents are all over each other."

Beca stiffened at that, mortified at being caught by a family member of Chloe's even though they had literally done nothing. Well, nothing of the sexual sort, anyway.

Chloe just chuckled, and shook her head. "Maur, this is Beca. Beca Mitchell. Dr. Mitchell's daughter?"

"Oh! _Beca_. It's so nice to finally meet you," the woman gushed, thankfully staying right where she stood next to Chloe.

"Uh, yeah, you too," Beca said offhandedly, all the while chanting ' _don't come over, don't come over, please have personal boundaries_ ' in her head.

"She's a little shy, isn't she?" Maura said playfully, taking the complete lack of eye contact in stride.

Chloe smiled her answer, shooting an adoring look at Beca. "She's not that bad once she gets to know you."

Maura tilted her head, lips curling up into a knowing smile. When Chloe turned back to face her aunt, the woman jumped slightly as if remembering something. "Oh! I almost forgot. Jane couldn't make it so she told me to give you this." Maura then proceeded to hug her pseudo-daughter warmly.

Beca dared to glance over when she saw something happening in the corner of her eyes and immediately regretted the decision to look. She did not need the mental image of a naked woman hugging her Chloe. Or the mental image of any naked woman doing anything, really.

Wow, okay, that was a warm-ass hug. They must not have seen each other in quite a while.

"I'm just gonna... I smell, so..." Beca walked backwards, away from the scene, all the while managing to not look in Chloe's general direction. "Just gonna go wash up in... I'll be back later."

And with that, Beca managed to make her escape. She hoped that she was subtle enough in her retreat, but with her luck, they both knew she was flustered into withdrawing herself from the conversation. Not that it really mattered, but now she had these images in her mind and- was that what they looked like? It looked so sexual, yet not at all at the same time. In fact, an instinct buried deep inside of her was trying to get her to be casual about it. Was she always overreacting?

The thoughts were haunting her all the way to the tiny, clear lake where she liked to bathe. The great thing about it was that there was a waterfall-like corner that sort of acted as a shower.

"I'm cool, I'm cool," Beca told herself once she arrived at the water's edge. "It's totally cool!" she added animatedly, gesturing with her hands to further convince herself. She thought about getting naked and taking a dip, but was immediately bothered by the notion that either Chloe or Maura could catch her.

"Ugh, who am I kidding," she sighed. The only times when she wasn't uncomfortable being naked was when she was alone or distracted. By Chloe.

Beca stood there a moment, her thoughts overloaded, as she looked at her distorted reflection in the rippling water. Then she decided to just fuck it all and take a dip anyway.

Instead of undressing, she settled for changing into a ferret and leaving the pile of clothes behind. She tumbled into the water before shifting back into a human again, sighing as the cold, cold water sent a shudder up her spine. Steam rose where her overheated skin met water, drawing a curious look. "Huh," she mumbled to herself, never having witnessed such an event before.

Beyond distracted by the steam (and also a little worried), Beca quickly scrubbed down and got out of the water, only to realize she didn't have a towel with her.

Oh well.

She turned into a cheetah and simply shook off most of the water, then lay down for a moment as the rest of the water continued to evaporate. And, really, it was a good thing too, because not a minute later, she heard a familiar voice yell her name. It was as if Chloe had some kind of sixth sense about her turning into a cheetah.

In response, Beca chirped until Chloe had found her. When she came into view, that damned adoring smile was plastered on her face again, and mentally, Beca pouted. She would just have to live with being cute.

"Sorry about my aunt back there," Chloe said, sitting down in front of the damp animal. "We kinda forget that not all shifters are okay with being, y'know, _au naturel_ in front of each other."

Beca licked at her upper lip and nose, catching water droplets.

Chloe's smile widened marginally, making Beca wary. "I can say pretty much anything right now and you won't protest, huh?" she said, her smile taking on an impish tint.

Beca narrowed her eyes at her, then decided to get up before Chloe got to the point where she actually said something that required her to respond. And she deposited her still wet self on Chloe's lap rather unceremoniously.

Rather than being grossed out, however, Chloe laughed and petted her as one would a cat. Scratching under the chin, around the cheeks, behind the ears, through her mane.

And sweet Lord, it was one of the best things Beca had ever experienced. It was like scratching at an itch she didn't know existed, it was _that_ good. So naturally, that made her purr, but Beca didn't care. If only she kept on scratching like that. Before long, Beca was leaning up into the touches until they were practically eye to eye, and was blissfully receiving more ruffles.

"Weirdo," Chloe laughed, pressing a quick kiss to the cheetah's snout.

Beca blinked at the sudden action, but recovered quickly. That just gave her the best idea ever. She leaned in and started licking at Chloe's face, only vaguely weirded out by the fact that she tasted sort of nice. The other woman squealed in delight and tried to push her away, but Beca was adamant in her punishment.

Payback was a bitch.

The forest rang with Chloe's laughter.

If a bitch were a basket full of puppies.


	6. Chapter 6

Beca kept an eye on Chloe as she dressed, shooting glances over her shoulder to make sure her back was turned. "So is your aunt staying?" she asked, wishing she had brought along a clean shirt now that she was standing there in her tanktop.

"Nope." Chloe leaned back in the grass and propped herself up on her arms. "Now that she knows someone is looking out for me, she said she'll leave us to our 'girl bonding'." Her eyebrows knitted together in thought. "I couldn't tell if she was suggesting sex or what."

Beca paused in buttoning her pants, then shot an oblivious Chloe a mortified look. "Dude, your aunt is scary."

Chloe turned around, smiling. "That's just 'cause you're shy."

"It's because I'm _sane_ ," Beca shot back, buttoning her pants and walking over to the other woman. "At least I know where you got your personal boundaries from."

"I didn't hear you complaining before," she said, eyes sparkling with mirth. She got up as Beca got closer. "All you do is claim personal time as soon as you see nudity." She shot her a very, very meaningful look.

It took a moment before Beca understood what she was implying. "I'm not the one who's constantly getting naked!" she exclaimed indignantly.

"Uh-huh," Chloe agreed innocently, starting to head back to the cabin. She didn't even need any more words to get under Beca's skin, to imply that Beca not-so-secretly enjoyed all the nudity.

Beca narrowed her eyes at Chloe once she realized she was being played with. With a disbelieving shake of the head, she settled for, "You're such a dork."

"Your mouth says one thing..."

"Oh, I'll show you what my body says," Beca said threateningly, smiling even as she snuck up to Chloe. By the time Chloe realized something was up, Beca had already wrapped her arms around her waist and lifted her up. If Chloe hadn't squeaked in surprise and proceeded to giggle, Beca would've paid more attention to how effortless it was to pick up the other woman. Sure, she'd go to the gym once a week, but that didn't warrant the strength and control she was wielding at the moment.

At the same time, Chloe was slightly too worried to pay attention to how such a small girl had picked her up that easily. "What are you doing?!"

Beca managed to keep a hold of the politely struggling woman in her arms and walked back towards the water.

"No," Chloe said, eyes widening in realization. "Oh my God, Beca, don't you dare!" she laughed, upping the amount of struggling.

"I don't quite think that's what my body is telling you," Beca responded laughingly, stepping into the refreshingly cool water. Again, tiny swirls of steam rose from where bare skin came into contact with the water.

Chloe reached back with her arms, managing to somehow wrap them around Beca's neck as she squirmed to turn around in her grasp. It was a valiant attempt to not get wet, except she did not know that Beca wasn't afraid of getting into the water along with her. "Okay, okay!" Chloe gave up.

"Okay, what?" Beca asked, narrowing her eyes playfully. She stopped walking when the water reached her knees. You'd think Chloe was allergic to water with the way she was clinging to her like a koala.

"Okay, your body is saying... I agree with Beca's words?" Chloe finished hesitantly, sending Beca a winning smile nevertheless.

"And..." Beca goaded, nodding her head in approval.

"And... you're sane and I'm always getting naked?" Chloe frowned a little at that, not sure about how Beca's body was supposed to be saying that. "Though in my defense, your body likes it."

"I'm sorry, what was that? I didn't quite get that." Beca turned her ear to Chloe, knowing very well what she just said but allowing her a way out.

"I mean, your body is totally in sync with your mind and anything you think totally reflects in your body language!" Chloe quickly corrected.

"So what you're saying is that I like seeing you naked?" Beca started wading further into the water as she said this, pulling a faux thoughtful face.

"Yes, uh, no! No no no." By now, the water started lapping at her lower anatomy, and it wasn't quite clear if she was telling Beca no because she didn't like seeing her naked or if she was telling her no because she didn't want to get into the cold water. She arched into the other woman purely on reflex and gasped at the difference in temperature.

Beca was not prepared for that innocent yet sexual seeming gesture, though it did alert her to the way she was holding a very attractive girl while waist deep in cool water. If that didn't spell out 'seize the moment,' she didn't know what did. She turned her head to face Chloe, watching as the playful panic slowly melted from her face at their proximity. "Chloe?" They were so close, she could practically feel her breath on her face. Beca's arms begun to shake slightly.

"Yeah?" she breathed in reply, deadly serious at the determined look on the other woman's face.

"My arms are giving in," Beca said quickly before her arms did indeed fail her. Chloe didn't fall into the water though. No, with the way she was holding Beca, she hardly moved at all. Who did move was Beca, who didn't expect the sudden shift in weight, making her lose her balance. She toppled over slowly, making the last ditch attempt at regaining her balance by moving her arms around all the more comical. Until finally, "Oh shit!"

There was a rather anticlimactic small splash as they were both dunked under water, Chloe still on top of Beca. Almost immediately afterwards, both of them broke the surface, gasping. Beca wiped the water from her eyes and slicked her hair back, then watched as Chloe did the same. It should've been weird to Beca that Chloe was practically sitting in her lap, but most of her personal boundaries had been effectively dealt with, leaving her to think nothing of it.

"Well," Chloe said dryly, half floating, half straddling Beca's thighs. "At least I finally got you wet."

Beca snorted at the unexpected response, allowing Chloe to break her serious façade and smile as well. "If you were that desperate you could have just asked," Beca shot back.

Chloe's smile turned predatory as she raised her arms and circled them around her neck. "Oh Beca," she breathed. "Whatever are you implying?"

Beca raised an unimpressed eyebrow, lazily trailing her arms through the water. "I'm not implying anything, but I get the feeling there's a question coming."

Chloe's eyes flitted down to her lips momentarily. "Is it just me or are you hot?"

Beca guffawed, not expecting that in the least. "What?!"

"You're steaming," she said matter-of-factly, observing Beca closely. Her hands trailed a path along her neck, no doubt trying to feel the difference.

Rationally, Beca knew she was talking about her literal body temperature, but the whole situation was just so magnificently silly, that she could not help herself. "Oh, come here you," she muttered lovingly, closing in the small distance between them to press her lips to Chloe's. She did it slow enough so that she could see it coming, and, unsurprisingly, Chloe returned the kiss.

It was nice and languid and light-hearted and at least ten shades of awesome, just like their time together had been so far, and Beca couldn't have staged their first kiss better if she'd tried.

It was the most ridiculous thought that made Beca smile, effectively hindering their ability to kiss.

Chloe backed away slightly, shooting Beca a questioning look. "What?"

"You're kinda cool," Beca explained, referring to her body temperature. She should probably have been feeling more worried about it, except she was feeling great so it couldn't possibly be that bad.

When Chloe caught on, she couldn't help but answer, "Damn right I am!"

Beca almost choked on the oncoming splash when she started laughing at her exclamation.


	7. Chapter 7

It took a while for Beca and Chloe to disengage from an impromptu make out session. If it didn't freak Chloe out that Beca was literally steaming hot, then Beca was sure their kisses would've intensified until at least one of them slipped into second base. Or maybe not, but the reality was that they were two attractive, young adolescent women with a healthy dose hormones to spare so who knew.

"Ugh, everything's sticky," Chloe complained about their wet clothing as they made their way back to the cabin. That's where Maura was, and Chloe was convinced that Maura knew more about Beca's condition. Her aunt was, after all, a certified genius.

Beca spared Chloe a look, unsure of whether or not she knew what she just said. Deciding to play it up, she said in the most oblivious voice she could muster, "Well, I did get you thoroughly soaked."

"I know!" Chloe plucked at her jeans. Then, after a second, her head lifted up as if she realized what Beca had said. She smiled. "Maybe I should just take this all off."

"Or you could, you know, not." Beca huffed dramatically. "I swear, of all the people to get stuck with, it figures I get the exhibitionist."

"Or maybe I'm stuck with a prude," Chloe shot back playfully, bumping her shoulder into Beca's.

Beca chuckled, but otherwise decided to just drop it. Chloe, however, did not. "Seriously though, this is really uncomfortable," she said, awkwardly fumbling with her t-shirt before pulling it off. The problem with that was that Chloe didn't end up entirely naked, thus not overloading Beca's fragile mind when she was faced with a delicate looking navy bra and lean muscle tone.

Chloe was busy wringing out her shirt while Beca tried desperately to look elsewhere, except she was overwhelmed with... scientific curiosity. Yeah, it was totally scientific. She was desperate to know why she thought Chloe was so attractive, and the only way to discover that was to study her body in detail.

Which is why she did not see the low hanging branch coming. "Ow!" The branch hit her squarely in the face. Beca stood still as she held a palm to the painful spot above her right eyebrow. The spot slowly turned into a stinging burn. " _Ow_ ," she emphasised, looking at her hand to find blood.

Of course.

"What happened?" Chloe closed in the short distance between them and tilted Beca's face so she could take a better look at the cut, worry etched in her features. When she saw it wasn't half as bad as the trickle of blood would have them think, she glanced around. "Did you just walk into a tree?"

"What? No!" Beca protested vehemently. "What are these trees even growing? Razorblades? Because _ow_."

To her credit, Chloe didn't feel the need to laugh until Beca mentioned razorblades. "Do you have a first aid kit at the cabin?"

Beca nodded demurely, looking down at her bloodied hand with a grimace.

"Come on, let's get you back before you end up misstepping into a canyon," Chloe said, suppressing a smile.

Beca narrowed her eyes at Chloe in an as threatening manner as she could pull off (which, less face it, was more of a pout than a glare), but otherwise followed the amused girl.

Once at the cabin, Beca was reminded of why she didn't really want to return so soon. Stupid half naked Chloe dumbing her down.

"Oh my," Maura said, approaching the pair when she spotted them. She now wearing a simple light blue summer dress instead of, well, nothing. "What happened?" She purposely eyed Beca's face and then Chloe's semi-clothed state.

"I got into a fight with a tree," Beca said dryly, unconsciously touching her fingers to the cut. "Managed to get in a good hit with my face though."

The joke seemed to fly over Maura's head completely, seeing as her only reaction was to frown in confusion before proceeding to shoot Chloe a questioning look.

"She walked into a low hanging branch," Chloe explained even as she made her way into the cabin to retrieve the first aid kit.

"Oh, I get it," Maura exclaimed proudly. She sent Beca a smile, who wasn't quite sure how to react to that. "I thought perhaps you were using a colloquial expression I was not familiar with."

"Um, no," Beca hazarded.

Maura nodded her head, then asked out of the blue, "Why is Chloe wet?"

"Uh." Beca scrambled for an explanation that wasn't 'I dumped her in the lake' or anything else that would make her come across as an ass, because oh God, this was basically Chloe's second mom she was talking to. Chloe's scary second mom. "We slipped," she offered lamely.

"Found it!" Chloe called as she made her way over to the pair. She had tied her hair back in a messy bun while she was inside.

"Oh thank God," Beca whispered. Her shoulders, which she hadn't been aware had tightened due to talking to Maura alone, slumped slightly. When two pairs of eyes looked at her strangely, she quickly added, "It's starting to really itch."

While Chloe picked out the necessary items to clean the wound, Maura deemed it the right moment to start point out the obvious. "You're remarkably dry, however."

"Yeah, about that." Beca paused mid-sentence as Chloe tilted her head slightly to the side before cleaning all the excess blood from her face. She was used to Chloe handling her like intimately that, however, so she went on unhindered. "I've become really hot since this morning."

Chloe barely managed to swallow a snort before it escaped.

Beca narrowed her eyes at her and corrected herself, "My _temperature_ has been abnormally high since this morning. Like, I was wet when I left the lake. And I don't really feel sick."

Maura tilted her head as she considered the symptom, not looking so much surprised as intrigued. "Have you experienced any other symptoms?"

"She's stronger than she appears," Chloe offered offhandedly, not deviating from her task. Beca shifted her weight from one foot to the other in an uncomfortable fashion as Maura kept looking at her. "Her scent has become more potent, too."

That earned Chloe a strange look from Beca. Since when had Chloe been sniffing her? Not that she hadn't been aware of Chloe like that, but it was a strange realization that someone was keeping track of her scent.

"Well, I can hardly make a proper diagnosis based on this data alone."

Chloe pouted at the older woman. "Maura," she whined in what Beca would admit was a cute fashion.

Maura took a deep breath and reluctantly continued, "However, if I had to _hypothesize_ , I would say that your mitochondria have turned hyperactive as a sort of preparation process, taking in mind either reproductive or defensive purposes."

"Um." Beca took a moment to process what she said.

"Your iris sphincter muscles are constricting properly, but the increased pheromone secretion would indicate outward stimulus is involved. It is probable that another shifter has initiated this reaction," Maura glanced at Chloe, "so I believe it's reasonable to say that you only need to worry if you still experience these symptoms even after achieving an in-group relationship."

Beca opened her mouth to say something. She knew what the woman had said. She could even understand most of it. Except it was the speed and suddenness that took her off guard, leaving her standing there awkwardly.

"She's saying we should get comfortable around each other," Chloe concluded, lowering her hand. The cut had stopped bleeding and was tiny enough not to need stitches. All it needed was some disinfectant.

"So, what, we get to cuddle and my temperature drops?" Beca asked, mostly sarcastic.

"That's one way, yes." Maura nodded happily. "Though I would suggest an activity that's more focused on team building."

"O—kay." With the way she was advocating some sort of relation between her and Chloe, Beca was pretty sure Maura had turned from scary to terrifying in less than five minutes.

Beca winced marginally as Chloe applied the disinfectant.

"That being said, I was going to stay for brunch, but preparing and eating food can be an excellent bonding experience," Maura noted, shooting them both a winning smile. "I should leave you two be and let you enjoy the rest of your vacation."

 _Oh, thank the Lord. Praise Jesus_ , Beca thought, making sure that that particular thought didn't reflect in her body language.


	8. Chapter 8

"I couldn't help but notice," Beca started, pausing momentarily to make sure that Maura was really gone. It was silly, really, because she'd left a while ago and they were even preparing brunch at the moment. Which basically meant Chloe was unpacking the food her aunt had brought with her. "You do that thing where you touch your foreheads together." She vaguely gestured at her own face. "With Maura, I mean, when you said goodbye. What does that mean?"

Chloe looked up as she smoothed out the picnic blanket, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. Beca tried not to feel so ridiculous as Chloe approached her with that damned knowing smile. It was clear as day that she wanted to know what it meant when Chloe had done it to her last night, when she had faked having a nightmare.

The silly feelings dissipated slowly when Chloe took her hands in hers and pulled her closer so they were sharing the air they breathed. "It means a lot of things. It means hello, goodbye, thank you, it's okay," she leaned in and rested her forehead against Beca's, playfully nudging their noses together, "I trust you, I love you," she finished softly, meaningfully.

Beca breathed out shakily and swallowed, suddenly feeling her knees going weak and her heart pounding in her throat. "Yeah?" she croaked.

Chloe chuckled, moving to touch her cheek to Beca's forehead. "And this means you're mine." Beca forgot how to breathe as she listened to the explanation, almost feeling as if she was being claimed. Chloe tilted her head and pressed her lips against the warming skin of Beca's brow. "This, I want to help you."

Beca swallowed again, aware that her mouth had gone dry. "So then," she moved so she could reach up and brush their cheeks together, "what does this mean?"

"It means we belong to each other," she said, leaning more into the touch, nuzzling into Beca's hairline.

Beca reared back at that, eyes wide with uncertainty. It felt like they just crossed a line with screeching tires.

Chloe just smiled reassuringly, not letting her back away too far by pulling her in by her hands. "That's what it _would_ mean if you were to do that," she clarified, nullifying their previous actions.

They were the magic words, it seemed, and Beca instantly felt relieved and back in charge of her own thoughts. Well, aside from the residual thoughts about kissing the daylights out of Chloe, but that'd have to wait a minute. "How do you know all this? I've been a shifter all my life and—huh?"

"Well, to be honest, I don't think it only applies to shifters," Chloe said thoughtfully. "I mean, I've often seen Maura do it to her human mate."

"So that's who you got that from?" Beca glanced down at the woman's lips, her thoughts about kissing catching up with her body.

Chloe nodded, her sudden mischievous grin taking Beca off guard. "You should hear her talk about sex," she whispered conspiringly.

And gone were most of the amorous feelings.

Beca pulled a face. "Great, now I'm going to have nightmares for the next few days."

Chloe laughed, and tugged Beca over to the food. "C'mon, let's see what she packed for us."

During a lunch that was as much intensely healthy as it was sexually frustrating (seeing Chloe put things in her mouth did strange, scary things with Beca's feelings), they concluded that some 'team building' experiences were in order. All the while, Beca was strangely relieved that Chloe didn't feel offended by her physical reaction to her. Still, they needed a good activity to... bond. Whatever that meant.

"So far, we've done fishing, cooking, cuddling," Chloe thought out loud, absentmindedly biting into a cherry. Meanwhile, Beca's mind was far too busy conjuring up intricate metaphors around mouths and cherries to really hear what she was saying. "So, acts of survival, really. We could go camping further into the woods?"

Beca blinked away the mental imagery when Chloe shot her a questioning look, and frantically backtracked in her memory to catch what she'd last asked. "Aren't we already doing that though?"

Phew.

Suddenly, Chloe's hand was gripping Beca's forearm, startling her slightly. "We still need to go hunting!" she said excitedly. "That's totally like a team sport, right?"

Beca pursed her lips as she considered it. Either they would make a great team and it would be fucking amazing, or they'd misread cues endlessly and were sure to be frustrated for days. It would make or break things. Whatever these 'things' were. She vaguely nodded. "You need to know a few things first..."

Turns out, she was worried for nothing. Beca had shifted into her own version of a wolf—a dark brown one with a black mask and cape—to level the playing field, and in that form Chloe was even better at reading her cues than when she was a cheetah. At one point, after a long afternoon of derping around in search of anything that wasn't dangerous enough to go after, they had tracked down a herd of deer, and she was amazed at the way they separated seamlessly to flank their prey.

Sadly, the flanking didn't actually work because deer were badass motherfuckers, which Beca had explained beforehand. The main point was the rush of the hunt, and if they were lucky, there'd be a sick or weak animal they could snatch. As luck would have it, there was no sickly or weak deer to be had. Still, the chase got hearts pumping and instincts dominating.

In all truth, Beca could've caught up to them as a cheetah, but that was entirely besides the point. They got to chase down prey, and they worked pretty well together.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Chloe panted, still recovering from the chase as she lay back in the high grass, almost completely obscured.

In response, Beca tried to catch her breath. Still a wolf, she plopped down next to her, facing away to preserve her sanity. Of course, Chloe felt the need to mention this.

"It's okay if you wanna turn back, y'know." She reached out to Beca's side and ruffled the fur she found there before turning over and spooning her. Against her will (not that she was really trying to fight it), Beca's tail started wagging. "I promise I won't mind when you check me out."

Beca huffed comically, making Chloe laugh.

"But really," Chloe continued seriously, nuzzling at the wolf's neck. "My being naked has nothing to do with trying to seduce you. This feels just as natural to me as being clothed. I want to be able to share that with you."

Well shit, now Beca just felt guilty for being embarrassed.

"If you were human, you could tell me why it bothered you so much," she goaded.

Beca squirmed until she was lying on her back and could look at Chloe with big blue eyes. She was pretty sure she was communicating how unfair it was that the woman was making so much sense, but still, Chloe raised her eyebrows expectantly.

She caved.

That cursed tender expression and those stupid marvellous features could probably make her go buy icecream at three in the morning. So she shifted back into a human, almost missing the gleeful smile aimed at her as she casually folded her arms over her chest. The arm lying across her stomach felt strangely intimate, nude as she was. "You're terrible, you know that?"

Chloe's smile widened even though she appeared to be trying to tone it down. "Why is that?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you got me naked in the middle of a forest?" she replied nonchalantly. Her eyes must have had a life of their own, because as much as she was trying to maintain eye contact, they slid down before she caught herself.

Luckily, Chloe didn't mind. Just as she said. Quite the opposite in fact. She reached up with her hand and cupped Beca's face, gently running her thumb across her cheekbone. "You may look, if you want," she said, smiling serenely.

Beca felt her face grow warm at receiving permission to ogle her. It was just plain weird. So weird. Weird. "Okay, now I just feel weird."

"And I feel wonderful," Chloe supplied helpfully, leaning forwards to plant a quick kiss on Beca's lips.

"Uh." For some reason, not wearing clothes made the kiss even more intense than usual. Or maybe she just really wanted to kiss Chloe again after all those kiss-less hours. Or both. "Can I have another one of those?"

Chloe chuckled even as she leaned in for another kiss. This time, however, Beca's hand shot out to tangle itself in the hair behind Chloe's neck, keeping her there and prolonging the kiss. It was sweet and glorious and so close to turning openmouthed before Chloe deemed it necessary to pull back to ask, "Wanna head back?"

"Nmh, more kisses first," she mumbled, stealing her lips again.

Chloe smiled into the kiss but otherwise didn't complain. Certainly not when it deepened.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This continues immediately after chapter 8.
> 
> *violently adjusts rating*

Kissing Chloe was fantastic. Beca thought she knew kisses before; the mechanics and feelings behind them, but she was wrong. Well, only on the feelings part and maybe a little on the mechanics. It wasn't like she needed radically new techniques for kissing the lovely, lovely woman before her, but it was smooth and made her incredibly stupid (mostly because holy shit), while creating silly feelings everywhere. And oh, she loved becoming stupid if that'd allow her to kiss Chloe.

Chloe chuckled as she pulled back from the kiss. "Why are you smiling?"

"Huh?" Beca blinked as twinkling blue eyes came into focus, dimly realizing that she was smiling. Stupidly. She was smiling stupidly.

"Someone's got a crush on me," Chloe sing-songed, moving the hand from Beca's cheek to briefly touch a finger to the tip of her nose.

Beca went cross-eyed as she followed the finger. "Oh please." She didn't notice the hand lowering until it rested on her naked hip. It momentarily jolted her. Everything was more intense and scary naked, but at the same time, Chloe managed to reassure her with just a look. It was kind of exhilarating. "Like I'm the only one with a crush."

"Damn straight," Chloe admitted immediately, leaning in for another quick kiss.

"Actually, I think it's pretty gay," Beca replied dryly, and licked her lips. She felt kinda intoxicated by all the kisses, yet she still wanted more. She blinked, finally realizing her words and actions over the day. "Wow, I'm so gay."

Chloe smiled wide, barely able to repress a laugh. "Actually, sexuality is a spectrum, and very hard to codify, so I don't think... you really care," she finished, watching the incredulity seep into Beca's expression via a raised eyebrow.

"That was kinda scary." Beca couldn't seem to wipe the look off her face. "You totally sounded like Maura for a second."

"I can also tell you why polar bears are white?" Chloe teased, running her hand over Beca's hip and to her lower back. It was in this moment that Beca noted the intimate embrace they were in. Touching privately. Naked.

Beca swallowed, looking slightly terrified. "Chloe?"

Instantly, she became serious, aware of the impending urgent situation. "Yeah?"

"I can't shift," Beca croaked, grimacing. She reached behind her back and massaged a selective spot, keeping her eyes on the grass around them, keenly aware of their state of undress. Her momentary intimacy panic receded once she figured out the why and what. "I also think I pulled something, like, everywhere."

Chloe shot her a sympathetic look. "You spent too much time outside your preferred form," she determined.

"Ugh, now I'm _stuck_ naked in the middle of a forest," Beca grumbled, scrunching her eyes shut in frustration. Because of this, she belatedly noticed that Chloe had gotten up.

"Come on, I know a few things about anatomy," Chloe chirped, coaxing Beca to turn onto her stomach.

Even as she did as she was told, she couldn't help the cheeky reply, "I can't tell whether that was a pick up line or if you're genuinely trying to help me."

"Oh, don't worry, Beca. If I were seducing you, you'd be the first to know," she purred in response, making a shiver run up the woman in question's spine. Or maybe that was Chloe's hand.

Beca gulped, but otherwise proved to be wrong. And right. The massage definitely did help with the muscles that had locked up, but at the same time that was a sensual-ass massage.

Pun not intended.

It was totally not her fault though. Those damn perfect hands were working magic and it was all she could do to prevent herself from moaning out her approval. She could only imagine Chloe's face when the massaging stopped with a happy, "You feel a lot better to the touch now."

Well, that was one way to put it.

If Beca was completely honest with herself (and that was becoming increasingly easier as time progressed), she was insanely turned on by now. In fact, if Chloe couldn't smell her with her heightened senses, she was doing a damn good job of hiding it. The thought pretty much consumed her and before she knew it, she was apologizing for being a sleazebag like that. "I'm sorry."

Chloe dropped into view, onto the floor beside her much like before. "What for?" she asked, eyes alight with curiosity.

Beca noted with a relief that she was looking a little flustered herself. "For... liking it. Y'know, too much," she explained awkwardly, vaguely gesturing with a hand.

Oh God, why did she even open her mouth?

Chloe narrowed her eyes as she tried to figure out Beca's cryptic answer, but quickly put the pieces together. "It's totally fine! I liked it a lot, too." She smiled happily, shooting her a wink.

Beca wondered if her face looked as red as it felt warm when she placed the distinctive scent of Chloe. "Uh," she stuttered.

Chloe propped herself up on an arm, her available hand tracing meaningless patterns on Beca's shoulder. "So, do you wanna, like, have sex?" There was an unmistakable glint of mischievous in those eyes that gave her away, but Beca wasn't ready to handle that kind of teasing. Not yet anyway.

Beca gawked at her a moment, then covered her eyes with her palms and groaned in agony. Well, not so much agony as... something. She wasn't sure what she was feeling. It was both good and bad. Mostly good, though. "That's so not fair."

Chloe laughed, loud and clear. Thankfully, she was a merciful person. "Come on, try to shift."

Beca dropped her hands, and shot Chloe a glare that of course, translated into a pout. Chloe's tongue peeked out between her teeth as she bit her tongue both literally and figuratively, smiling unabashedly. Before Beca could kiss her for being insanely cute (and then end up having sex anyway), she shifted into a cheetah. It was harder than usual. Even slightly painful as her sore muscles were stretched and molded into different shapes. But she managed, and stood proudly above a very nude Chloe.

For the love of—

Beca turned away from the ever giddy woman until she saw her shift from the corner of her eyes.

With the awkward hop in Beca's right leg and with the few times Chloe took the lead in guiding them back, it took a little longer to reach the cabin. By then, they had both worked up quite a hunger, but only one was not a cheetah, lying in front of the cabin like it was slowly dying.

Chloe exited the cabin as she pulled on an oversized shirt, completing her ensemble of absolutely nothing else, then let out a laugh as she saw Beca in animal form, lying belly up. That was a hint if she ever saw one. "It's a good thing Maura thought of dinner," she remarked.

She leaned down and ran a hand over Beca's fluffy stomach. The only response she got was a vague twitch of the tail.

"Lazy kitty," Chloe cooed, ruffling the fur some more until she got a purr.

It was the last thing Beca remembered before she passed out. When she next woke up, it was already dark outside and Chloe was inspecting one of her paws with her hands. It was the weirdest feeling, having someone press into the pads of your feet to have the claws slide out. It vaguely felt like having your knee reflex tested: not painful, but not very nice either.

"Oh hey, you're awake." Chloe left her paw alone at that. "Dinner's ready."

And what a dinner it was. After putting on something decent, she joined Chloe's mission to finish all the pasta. It was creamy and mushroom-y and insanely good. Chloe had only had one portion, while Beca would've gone for a fourth plate if it had been available.

"Wow, you were really hungry, huh?" Chloe remarked in amusement, adjusting the logs in the fire with a stick.

Beca lay back in the grass with a satisfied smile gracing her lips. "Cheetahs can eat up to fourteen kilograms of food in one sitting," she explained lazily. "One of the flaws that occasionally reflects in my human form."

"Flaw?" Chloe echoed incredulously. Done with the fire, she sat down next to Beca again and found the glowing eyes in the orange glow of the fire. "You eat three times as much I do and still look the way you do. A lot of girls would kill for that."

Beca glanced over at Chloe with a cocky grin before lazily closing her eyes. "Just promise me one thing."

A little surprised at the response, "Depends."

"Wear underwear next time," she quipped, smile widening.

Chloe looked down at her lap before breaking out into smile and nudging Beca in the shoulder. "Pervert."

Beca guffawed. "What does that make you?"

"Perfectly sane," Chloe answered saintly.

Beca shook her head incredulously, mumbling, "Hypocrite."

"I heard that."


End file.
